Audio: Habs on eve of another do-or-die

Canadiens centre Scott Gomez heads for his Philadelphia hotel Sunday afternoon. The Habs take on the Flyers Monday night in the sixth sudden-death game Montreal has played this postseason.Phil Carpenter, Gazette

The Canadiens have arrived in Philadelphia, where Game 5 against the Flyers awaits tomorrow night.

The club and the NHL made the head coach and a few players available to journalists – all five of us who went to their hotel for the occasion.

96 Comments

as a very far out of town habs fan, i agree and repeat my pride in our squad this playoffs. it has been a tremendous ride for me and for the team. i will be cheering them on tuesday morning (my time). they can do it! GO HABS!!

We were being outcoached as well … JM pulled a Boudreau on us by not making any adjustments at all prior to game #4 (even though it was clear that Carter would be back from injury) and by not calling any timeouts to give the team some new impulses. That 2nd period on Saturday was just brutal and probably the worst single period of the entire playoffs.

Rationally I agree that we have gotten more than could have been expected. The sad part is that there a jerks out there that will gloat and say ” I told you the Habs were too small to win in the playoffs” To which I say it’s not the small players that haven’t been doing the job, it’s the bigger players with small hearts that haven’t gone the extra mile.

I hope it’s a good game Monday and I can say that every one on the Habs gave it their all.

SHARKS lose in 4 straight, HABS beat CAPS and PENS. This is one messed up season, can’t say enough about the value of “heart” I’m so proud of our team! — I will not apologize for being a delirious HABS fan! –

Your email has prepared me for any outcome really. I never thought how huge this must be for out of town Habs fans. Awesome! In fact while I was shaving yesterday I thought it would be amazing to have a parade this year for the Habs whether we win anything or not because I for one want to show my appreciation for what this team has accomplished.

In three of the four games, the Flyers’ defence has done a very good job of keeping us to the outside. The first two games we outshot them badly, but most of our shots were from the outside. We made life easy for Leighton. Yes, he has three shutouts, but he hasn’t had to do much for them. Most of the saves have been routine. The first game we basically didn’t show up. Next game was a lot better, but we were not intense enough. Also, those two games our penalty kill was atrocious. The Flyers were 4-for-10 on the powerplay, with two more goals coming immediately after the end of a powerplay.

The third game was perhaps our best of the playoffs. We looked a lot faster than the Flyers, who played poorly on defence. We were able to get behind their D easily and generate a lot of quality scoring chances. With traffic around his net, Leighton looked very ordinary. We started Game four pretty well, although we were not finding nearly as much space as in Game three; but Bergeron took a penalty halfway through the first period, and from that point we just seemed to lose our rhythm and never found it again. Passes were off the mark, too long or in the skates; we did little but clear our zone, dump the puck in and go off for a change. We had 1 shot on goal in the second period, while the Flyers scored two goals, one when Gorges had a skate problem, the second after Subban turned over the puck.

I don’t think size or toughness have been the issues some thought they would be this series. The Flyers haven’t played dirty; they’ve just forced us to play the kind of game we have the most trouble with. As for goaltending, Halak wasn’t great in the first two games, but seemed in Game three to regain the superb form he showed in the earlier two series. With three shutouts, Leighton obviously has a better save percentage in the series, but I’m convinced that if we get traffic around him and get him moving from side to side, we’ll score a lot of goals. He has trouble with rebounds; we’re just never there to pounce on them. And he doesn’t seem to move very well.

Before we all cut apart this year’s team again for being too small, underachieving (some players only), over-paid, poorly coached and over-hyped, please look back over the last 6 weeks and be thankful for the hockey we have been able to see. No one of us, even the most blindly optimistic could have thought that game 5 in the conference finals was on our horizon this year or even in the next few years. It has been (and still is) especially fun for those of us who do not live in a predominantly Habs market ’cause we get to gloat over all our buddies who make fun of our team all year, now they have not seen their team play in weeks and the Habs are still alive.

We have seen the coming-out of our world-class goalie, the pure scoring ability of Cammy (he will get 50 next year if healthy). We have finally discovered why Gill was signed and Spacek as well. They are play-off players. We have players who play above the diminutive stature to turn so-called Norris, Selke and Hart candidates into long-ball hitters and men’s night sandbaggers. The leadership and tactical abilities of soon-to-be-head-coach-somewhere Kirk Muller. The emergence and sneak-peek at our next great star, Pernell Karl Subban.

What a wonderful and unexpected spring we are having, thanks to this team and the guys who run it. I, for one never thought we would be watching the Habs on May 2-4. Yet here we are. Not ready to give it up yet, I friggin’ hate the Flyers so let’s see a win boys!

Play-offs 2010, is exactly why we are Habs fans. Cheer for another team and you will never understand.

……….. “Thank you Cammy for making my day even more amazing!” I STILL BELIEVE. I WILL ALWAYS BELIEVE. Cammalleri: “I almost feel bad for a guy who plays an NHL career without experiencing what it’s like to be a Montreal Canadien”.

I hope we win at least another game. I don’t want us to go out like this. This team is just an enigma to me. Is it possible the team is discouraged about their chances against the Hawks subconsciously?

just went to myrtle beach for 9 days….had a great time with the fam but saw one period of hockey….and it was game 1 …ughhh! I have beenreading the last hour and a half on here to get caught up on things. I have talked to a few peoiple as well who say that Pronger is killing us…taking away half the ice and that it appears we are consciously attempting to stay away from him….also been told the Ville Leino’s and Claude Giroux’s being better than the POuliot’s and Sk’s (heard he got to play but based on what I read on here it wasn’t really much of a chance and he didn’t seem to really care?)…….and I also see there is no goaltending controversy…….now that Michael Leighton is gone does it really matter who plays? PRice…Halak…they are not Michael Leighton? seriously what have I missed? how has this guy shut us out 3 times? someone briefly summarize what the hell has happened….getting bullied, out goaltended…just outplayed…..just give me the damn lowdown…..the US was great but they have no idea what they are missing down there……they gather around the tv to watch regular season baseball…..I watch my fair share too…it is great background noise and every once in a while you watch it for a few minutes…..

sitting here in my hotel room in atlanta trying to map out my trip to birmingham alabama, making sure I find a hotel with good internet access or VERSUS so I donty miss the HABS win tommorrow night. I believe in this team and they will play again wednesday in Montreal

You and I both know it won’t be a matter of luck tomorrow. If they play their best, the way we’ve seen them play a few times during the post season, they may just bring it back home. If not I just hope they put it all out there and make a game of it. Show some heart. Show some nads.

Chicago was down 2-0 at home in front of a boisterous and expectant crowd. They showed little panic and continued to work hard and play aggressive and were rewarded. Hope the Habs were watching. Giving up the first goal does not have to mean giving up.

Didn’t Bob try to get him last year or last summer? I thought I remember something about that. I love that guy! (Although I hope I get a chance to hate him next week.). Wouldn’t he look good parked in Leightons face, with Subban blasting one from the point!

Let’s keep in mind that winning on Monday would assure us of at least another 1-2 million in the team’s bank account which we could certainly put into good use going forward. Just one more reason to keep going …

I want to add as well, you know. The Flyers fans will come at our team with a lot of hatred and whatnot, of course. We did the same with our “FLYERS SUCK” chants. But I believe we should not try to put the Flyers down, but bring the Habs up. I have nothing negative to say about Philly(anymore), I think we should all stick with positive reinforcements and send that to our Club De Hockey in our own ways tonight. Big up the Habs, forget the Flyers. It’s all bout us, and win or lose this has been and I hope will continue to be a playoffs to remember for the Canadiens. BELIEVE! GO HABS GO!

Apologies for repeating a question I’ve asked elsewhere, but to win tomorrow, have we only one way of beating the neutral-zone trap, namely to continue doing what we did in Game 4 but just execute better? Or is there any alternative strategy anyone can think of?

Hit the line with speed, dump the puck deep if no play presents itself, and shoot the puck at the net. we need way more than 18 shots in the game. Hit their D especially that cretin pronger as well as Timmonen.

December 4, 2009 – Elmer Lach’s jersey took its rightful place with the Rocket’s in the rafters.

I don’t know why they couldn’t dump it in yesterday (although the ice was horrible!), but that is the way to beat them. It worked in game 3 and the Flyers CANNOT beat us if we dump it deep and get there first!

Play Subban up front.. a forward and tell him to hug the puck and skate willy nilly in the offensive zone then dish to someone and go to th enet. In other words crate a back door hazard for them. Maintain a very conservative D formation as u do this.

Then once u go up say by 2 goals bringhim back as rearguard and batten down the hatches.

Have some faith in your team, rather than post negative sh!t. If that’s all you can bring to the table than you be better to not post at all. This team has gone through a lot this playoff and has shown us what the core of this team really has. I still think we are not finished yet by a longshot.

To you from failing hands we throw the torch, be yours to hold it high.

I prefer our backs are against the wall again. We take this series to 7 again. and we move on again. This playoff has an interesting story thus far. If the Habs win this series in 7, How many other teams have made it to the finals in 3 consecutive 7 game series? The habs will make history when they win the cup! In 1993it was the OT run which will never be equalled in ’86 it was the rookie express that brought the Stanley cup to St. Catherine Street . This year it is the backs against the wall Habs! You will tell your grandchildren about this run. I believe … Go Habs Go!

December 4, 2009 – Elmer Lach’s jersey took its rightful place with the Rocket’s in the rafters.

Entirely, passionately agree that MAB should not play D — but there is some mystery going on there that won’t be unravelled until someone publishes their memoirs. How about putting MAB on a line with Pleks and a grinder, perhaps Moen. Because then in fact, if Pouliot were with the Ks, the ghetto would be complete, and Pleks doesn’t belong there anyway — he’s not inert, he’s injured or snake-bit.

And how do we open up the slot where often four or even five Flyers were packing themselves in Game 4? They made changes in responses to what we did to them in Game 3. Their changes worked (we lost, were shut-out, 17 shots) – so now we have to change. Or does Lav out-coach JM and, man-for-man, the Flyers out-play the Habs?

We didn’t skate past the first period last night. We will have to adjust in that they are going to try to spring odd man rushes past our pinching D. But more or less the game 3 plan remains in effect.. Skate, dump, skate, shoot. We need more shots and perhaps garbage goals. passing into traffic makes no sense and blind passes even less sense.

December 4, 2009 – Elmer Lach’s jersey took its rightful place with the Rocket’s in the rafters.

Wasn’t it simply the case that the Flyers slowed us down so much in the neutral zone that we couldn’t retrieve our own dump-ins? (Except for all the times we dumped and then headed to the bench for a line change).

Good points, although to me it remains a mystery because his modest puck-carrying capacity is worse than utterly negated by the degree to which he is a total liability in his own end — where constantly losing possession is not only a goal hazard but a huge drain on team stamina and confidence — and indeed at the blue-line on the power-play.

You’ve probably seen more of RO’B in action than I have, so I’m sure you’re right. But as we face elimination, maybe we can’t afford to talking about whether or not he’s good, rather whether or not he’s safer than MAB. Isn’t he that? If he is, add to that his size, better for clearing the crease than little MAB.

Unless he actually sucks in practice, I would play him in the rotation, build up his confidence, get over his fear of being benched.